Thanks to a move to Ridgeland, The Cotton Blossom Fabric Shop, which specializes in material for quilts and other creative sewing projects, has expanded in size.

The shop opened Sept. 30 in its new location in Parkside Village II at 670 US 51 in Ridgeland. KC & Co. salon and day spa and 1st Heritage Credit are also located in the center.

“With the move to our new location, we almost doubled our space in square footage,” said Robin Thomas of Canton, who with her mother, Cathy Dixon of Canton, co-owns the business.

“At our new location, everything is on one level, which is nice, because it makes it easier for our students who bring their sewing machines to classes.”

The shop attracts customers from all across Mississippi, making its location on US 51 prized because of its accessibility, Thomas said. “We’re right in the thick of things in Ridgeland,” she said

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Cotton Blossom Fabric Shop co-owner Cathy Dixon demonstrates how to use the long arm quilter.(Photo: Kathy Matheny/For The Clarion-Ledger)

The shop has 5,700 square feet of space with the front half serving as a showroom for fabric as well as Baby Lock sewing machines and embroidery machines and the back half as a classroom/event space. The showroom has a fresh look with white shelves, which allow the brightly-colored fabrics to stand out.

The shop began as an online business in 2009 and operated like that for several years.

“We started in one room over the garage at our farm, Cotton Blossom Farm,” Thomas said. “We bought a few bolts of cloth, sold those and before we knew it the business had taken over our entire house. We were shipping fabric all over the world daily.”

The business took a new turn in 2013 and became a bricks-and-mortar retailer when space in a building on Main Street in Madison became available. “Four years later, we knew we had outgrown that space and needed more room,” Thomas said.

Thomas credits her mother with realizing the need for the business.

“She said, ‘There’s no good place to get good fabric,’” she said. “It was her brainchild.”

The shop stocks more than 3,000 bolts of fabric, specializing in designer quilting and apparel weight cotton. “We cater to quilters to garment sewers, people making baby bedding and people making clothing for their grandchildren,” Thomas said.

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The Cotton Blossom Fabric Shop has a fresh, welcoming environment for customers to enjoy.(Photo: Kathy Matheny/For The Clarion-Ledger)

The shop also offers beginning and advanced sewing classes and quilting classes.

“We’re growing a new generation of sewers,” Thomas said. “A lot of people come in and see the quilts hanging and decide to make a quilt.”

Quilting today isn’t totally like that of generations ago, Thomas said, noting that some fabric comes pre-cut in strips and squares as a timesaver and that gray shows up in quilts just as it does in home décor.

“Gray is really big,” she said. “It’s the new basic.”

The quilting industry is a $3.6-billion business, with many focused on it as an art form or creative outlet, Thomas said.

“They create something of value that they’re proud of,” she said. “There’s a lot of reward in doing that. The art of quilting and sewing is alive and thriving and we are proof of that.”

The Cotton Blossom Fabric Shop is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday.